


Caspar Wants Her, Fish Fear Her

by ReversalSun



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Comedy of Errors, F/M, Fluff, Idiots in Love, theyre both just fools trying to support each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2019-09-07
Packaged: 2020-10-12 00:18:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20555090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReversalSun/pseuds/ReversalSun
Summary: “Hey Annette,” Caspar found his tone to be more level than usual as he called her attention. “I might be able to, you know, help you out.” The girl’s attention suddenly snapped to him, her eyes wide as saucers. “Cause I have some experience fishing, I mean I’m no pro, but I can at least teach you the basics.”In which two idiots who have no business at Garreg Mach's pond try their best and manage mixed results.





	Caspar Wants Her, Fish Fear Her

Even here there seemed to be a million things to worry about. Annette had always been fair-skinned and more than a little prone to sunburn. The academy’s uniform provided quite a bit of coverage, but the summer sun struck her as more than a little menacing. On top of that - or rather below it - the dock that stretched out over Garreg Mach’s fishing pond wore its age plainly. She’d already picked a few splinters out of her skirt and one wrong move could leave runs in her tights. 

How this was supposed to be relaxing she did not know.

The girl’s eyes were trained at where line met water, hands clasped tight around the fishing rod. Tiny waves lapped endlessly past her, occasionally convincing her of phantom movement below the surface. The wooden pail beside her was empty - a record of her failure thus far. She hadn’t been out for more than twenty minutes, but the lack of results was buzzing in her mind. 

“Annette?” A Curious voice called out. “I didn’t think I’d run into you here.” Caspar was staring at her from dry land, confusion clearly written on his face. 

“Oh, Caspar!” His sudden entrance had startled her. “I could say the same about you, really.” 

“I didn’t think you were the fishing type.” The boy had already closed the distance between them, dock boards creaking as he stepped out over the water. 

“Well, I’m not. This is the first time I’ve ever fished, actually.” Caspar’s wonder only compounded with her response. “The professor suggested it. It’s apparently a good way to train concentration.”

“Concentration, huh?” There was a hint of displeasure in his voice. Whatever it’s purpose, he brushed it aside promptly. “Any luck so far?”

“About that…” Annette looked askance, prompting Caspar to spot the deserted bucket beside her. 

“Ahh, I gotcha. Maybe they’re just not biting today?” Caspar offered. The ginger just despondently shook her head. 

“No, it’s not the fish, it’s probably-” She frowned. “I don’t even know if I’m doing this right!” Frustration was clear in her tone. One could imagine that it must be disheartening to try something new and see zero results. 

Fishing wasn’t really a pass time that Caspar enjoyed. It was so slow and boring. Most of your time was spent sitting around doing nothing, staring at the water and hoping something might take the bait. On top of that mind-numbing aspect, he’d been lectured that even just talking could decrease your odds of a catch. He could recall venturing out with his father and older brother in his youth to fish. The trips Caspar had accompanied them on had been few - his father had endlessly chided him for being too loud, for running off, for recklessly jumping into the water after his inattention resulted in a rod falling into the murky depths. He wouldn’t call the memories fishing brought him the best, but he couldn’t ignore the defeated look Annette wore. The small frown that darkened her expression as she desperately tried to improve her situation tugged at his sympathy. It would be impossible to walk away from her. 

“Hey Annette,” Caspar found his tone to be more level than usual as he called her attention. “I might be able to, you know, help you out.” The girl’s attention suddenly snapped to him, her eyes wide as saucers. “Cause I have some experience fishing, I mean I’m no pro, but I can at least teach you the basics.”

“Could you really, Caspar?” She made no attempt to hide the excitement in her voice. “That would be fantastic!” The boy couldn’t help but grin at her enthusiasm. Pride bolstered, he took a seat next to her at the edge of the dock. “So what's first?” Annette questioned.

“Well, lemme see what you’re working with here.” Grabbing the dock with one hand, Caspar reached out of the water and reigned in her fishing line with the other. She certainly hadn’t cast far, barely a foot from the end of the dock. The boy drug the hook up from the depths, only inspecting it for a moment before speaking. “Well, problem number one is that you don’t have any bait.”

“What?” The girl was completely blindsided by the revelation, staring in near-horror at the barren hook. “But I was sure I’d put some on there..”

“Hey, no worries! Bait comes lose sometimes, maybe a fish nibbled it off.” Caspar grabbed a fresh grub and offered it and the hook toward her. “Nothing we can’t fix, right?”

Annette’s eyes met the pair with miserable reluctance. Slowly she raised a hand to take the larva, only to stop just shy of the wriggling creature and shoot Caspar a pleading look. He was far from the most intuitive soul at the monastery, and he could only meet her opposition with a confused slant of the eyebrow. Quickly coming to understand that he would not be threading the insect for her, Annette relented and swiped the larva from his hand. A shudder spanned her body as the hook’s impact with the grub’s soft flesh pulled tight before loosening as the tip impaled it clean through. She withdrew her hand at the speed of light upon completing the trial. It had been no easier the second time. 

“Okay, yeah, I see.” Caspar nodded, inspecting her work. “That's probably part of the problem. You can’t just stick it on once like that or you’ll lose your bait.” Annette watched in horror as the boy looped the larva’s body around and crushed its head onto the tip of the hook without a second thought. “That's much more secure!” He looked up at her with an accomplished smile as the grub convulsed.

Annette was shades paler than usual, nose crinkled as she stared down at the bug. “I should have listened to Mercie. I should have just used corn.”

“Nah, corns probably not gonna get you much.” As Caspar released the hook, something finally clicked in his head. “Oh wait.” He snapped to attention and studied the ginger’s face. “Hey, do you… not like bugs?” The reaction he received from the girl was a swirling cocktail of pity, exasperation, and awe. “Is that a yes?”

“I’m definitely not a fan of poking fishing hooks through them!” She brought a hand to her forehead and let out a deep breath. She calmed herself before speaking again. “Thank you for helping me, Caspar. Are we good to go now?”

“Yeah, we should be.” The note of hesitation lingering in his voice quickly faded. 

“Okay, back on track.” The girl gently extended the rod over the water. She took care not to let the hook dip into the pond before settling on a location and lowering it to what she deemed to be an appropriate level. Caspar could barely believe what he was watching.

“A-annette,” For the first time ever, Caspar found himself unable to summon more than a whisper. “You know you’re supposed to cast, right?”

“What?” Her answer was similarly subdued, though a rising panic was eminent in her voice. “You mean like - like a spell?”

Caspar was taken aback. He looked to the fishing line, then to Annette, and back to the line again. The boy opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it and took on a serious gaze instead. 

“Not like a spell?” 

“Not like a spell.” Caspar shook his head. After a moment, he stood up. “Casting a fishing line is when you wind it up-” He held his arms in front of him before reeling them back. “And then flick it forward!” With an exaggerated motion, he jerked his arms forward, still miming as if holding a rod. Lowering his hands to his hips, he looked to Annette. “Now you give it a try.”

“Okay, I can try.” Annette hoisted herself onto shaky legs, brows knit in concern. She turned to Caspar, waiting for some further instructions. He only gave her an encouraging nod and a gesture to continue. 

The girl planted one foot firmly in front of her before lifting the fishing rod above her head and attempting to swing it forward with all of her might- only to be jolted to a stop when the line refused to fly once more. Two pairs of eyes snapped in time to where the hook had snagged the dock behind them. Annette let out a disheartened hum, her shoulders sinking slightly. 

“Hey- don’t let that get you down! It was just your first try!” Caspar leaped into action, freeing the hook from worn wooden boards and checking it for damage. “Well, we lost our bait again, but that just means you can practice casting without any worries!”

“I guess so.” Upon thinking a moment, Annette seemed to brighten further. “Yeah, practice makes perfect, right?” Caspar smiled, proud that his observation had successfully raised her spirits a touch. He released the hook and stood up again. “We’ve had our troubles, but I think I’m hitting my second wind now! I wasn’t born good at casting spells, I had to work at it. Fishing is just gonna be the same way.”

“That's the spirit!” Caspar pumped his fist in the air, more than happy to cheer her on. “Ready for round two?”

“You know I am!” The girl steeled herself once again, firmly grasping the pole as she flung it behind her shoulder. Her eyes were locked forward - dead set on the middle of the pond. She wasn’t casting a spell, but maybe a similar mindset would serve her well. No hesitation, just a clear goal and the confidence to carry through. She flicked her elbow forward, excited to see the hook flying over the water.

But the hook didn’t fly forward.

Much like last time, she felt a jolt of resistance. But this time is was spongier - and accompanied by a scream of pain. 

Annette felt all the blood drain from her face as she realized what had happened. Part of her didn't want to turn around, but her body moved before she could even entertain the notion. Sure enough, the scene that met her was far worse than a grub stuck on a hook. 

She’d managed to catch Caspar’s cheek, just above his jaw. The hook had stuck him and emerged again a few centimeters above the initial entry. The boy was wincing, teeth grit tight and hand raised as if to cradle his face.

“Oh goddess, oh no, Caspar I’m so sorry!” Annette rushed forward, dropping the pole to the wayside.

“Annette no don’t drop the-!” He ducked down, hoping to lessen any potential harm done as the line followed rod. 

“Ah- wait I’ll-!” Realizing her mistake, she quickly scooped up the pole before it could roll off the dock. She could feel panic rising in her chest, a hot wave of disorientation that rose up from her chest and threatened to consume her head like a cloud of smoke. 

“Crisis semi-avert-ow,” Caspar found words to be a little difficult in his current state. 

“I should have never come out here, this is awful and it’s all my fault, if only I could pay attention to what I was doing-” The girl was speaking a mile a minute as she hovered over Caspar, desperate to figure out her next step. 

“Annette it’s really-” Between her frantic speech and the hook lodged in his cheek, the boy struggled to get a word in. She seemed trapped in indecision, reaching out as if to address hook only to draw back in fear of hurting him, then repeating the process.

“We should call Mercie- No, we should call the professor- No, we should call Lady Rhea-”

“It’s okay Annette!” The smile he mustered seemed to break her out of her trance. The inquisitive look she quickly slipped into conveyed more than a little disbelief. “I’m a strong guy, you’ve seen me on the battlefield! Something like this isn’t gonna stop me.” 

“But…” Though her panic had been quelled, gloomy shame had taken its place. “You just wanted to help, and I ended up hurting you.”

“Not to brag, but I’ve been shot, stabbed, punched, and bitten just in the last few months. This? It’s nothing.” He pinched the end of the hook. 

“Wait, how is that bragging?” Annette shook her head. “No, nevermind. In any case, we gotta get that out. May I?” She reached a tentative hand toward the hook. 

“Go ahead, just make it quick.” Caspar squeezed his eyes shut, prepping for a pain that didn’t come.

“Wait, you don’t think I’m just gonna yank it out, right?” The blank look from the boy that met Annette’s question betrayed him. “That would be a horrible idea, Caspar!” The girl simply shook her head at him before directing her attention to the fishing line. After eyeing it for a moment she brought the string to her mouth and bit through it. “If you’re gonna brace yourself, do it now.” Caspar silently complied, his eyes closing once again.

Annette pinched the end of the hook, careful not to poke herself in the process. In a single, soft motion she pulled the smooth end through the entrance and exit wounds on the boy’s cheek. Caspar’s shoulders visibly tensed as what little line remained threaded to the hook slid through the punctures. Casting the scrap of metal aside, Annette quickly retrieved a handkerchief from her pocket and pressed it to the small dots of red that arose from the newly-opened holes. 

“Hey this kinda-” A gentle aroma emanating from the cloth took Caspar by surprise. “Does this smell like flowers or something?” 

“Oh yeah!” Annette smiled. “Mercie was telling me the other day how she always uses a bit of perfume on her handkerchiefs, so I thought I’d try it too.” After a moment her smile dropped. “I just wanna say it again - I’m really sorry Caspar. This was a complete disaster.”

“Weeeeell, I wouldn’t call it a complete disaster.” Caspar took on an impish grin. “You did manage to catch something in the end, and even if it leaves a mark, I don’t think it’ll take too much away from my handsomeness. In fact, it might just make me look rugged.” Annette snorted, trying to contain her laughter.

“I’ll give you that.” His jovial tone had risen her spirits once more. 

“And on top of that,” Caspar began, his tone softened. “You did just fine once your mind was set on helping me out. I would have just ripped the hook out, like you said, but you actually thought it through.” 

“I guess I did,” Annette cocked her head to the side slightly. “But I think that's just what most people would have done.”

“Okay maybe it is, maybe I was just being rash.” Caspar chuckled. “But what I’m saying is that once you stopped worrying about making mistakes and were sure of yourself, you did just fine.” 

Realizing the point to his words, Annette simply smiled for a moment. He was right, and the revelation did kick up a bit of pride in her chest. Maybe fishing wasn’t for her, but that didn’t really matter. A new skill wasn’t what she had been after in the first place.

“Thank you, Caspar.” She took the handkerchief from his jaw and inspected the wounds. “We really should get you to the infirmary though, just in case.”

“Alright, alright. But only if you walk me there.”


End file.
